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The Cost of Courtship: Putting a Price on Finding Love

With Valentine's Day around the corner, Canadians are spending a pretty penny on dating

TORONTO, Jan. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As it turns out, you can put a price on love, and for Canadians the price tag on courtship can be quite costly. According to a recent survey from savings destination RetailMeNot.ca, when dating, Canadians spend an average of $760 on expenses over the course of a year, on everything from getting dolled up, dinner and drinks and gifts to woo that special someone. In fact, more than one-third of single and seeking Canadians (36 per cent) stated they have to save up and set aside a portion of their budget to support their dating life.

The Price of Dating

For those actively dating, the costs can really make a dent on the wallet, with single Canadians estimating to spend $150 per month on dating adding up to about $1,800 per year! No wonder over half of all Canadians (66 per cent), single or not, agree dating can be very expensive and 65 per cent believe it is more expensive than being in a committed relationship.

On average, single Canadians plan to spend the following amounts while dating:

Date Night

$84 on dinner and drinks

$44 on cocktail dates

$22 on coffee dates

Pampered Priorities

$62 on new outfits to wow dates

$38 on personal maintenance and grooming

From coffee meets to cocktail dates, trying to find your special someone adds up. In an attempt to keep costs down, 58 per cent of Canadians say that they go 'dutch' with their date, splitting the bill 50/50. But even that doesn't take away the financial burden.

"The majority of single Canadians (75 per cent) agree dating can be exhausting. Not just from being out late at dinner, but exhaustive on your wallet, too," says Sara Skirboll, Shopping & Trends Expert for RetailMeNot.ca. "Whomever you're celebrating Valentine's Day with, consider buying something special for yourself or a special someone that won't break the bank. Check out savings sites likeRetailMeNot.ca to find great deals, coupons and discounts can help you save on everything from your outfit to a box of chocolates!"

Valentine's Day Spending

For the 61 per cent of Canadians celebrating the day of love, dating or committed, the costs continue to rise with people planning to spend an average of $170 on the one day alone. Those in long term relationships will get off a little easier, with 71 per cent of Canadians saying the older the relationship, the less people spend on Valentine's Day. For those in new relationships, save up! Almost 70 per cent of Canadians feel that the first Valentine's Day together receives the biggest celebrations and therefore, the steepest bill.

On average, Canadians celebrating this Valentine's Day plan to spend the following amounts:

Jewelry: $176

Clothing: $86

Flowers: $36

Lingerie: $82

Chocolate or Candy: $35

Other Survey Findings

Material Confidence: Forty per cent of single Canadians like to buy a new outfit for a date so they feel more confident;

Valentine's for the Ladies: The majority of Canadians (81 per cent) believe women tend to be more spoiled on Valentine's Day and 77 per cent believe that men are less excited to celebrate this holiday;

Selfless Lovers: Only 30 per cent of Canadians expect to receive a gift on Valentine's Day from their significant other;

Love a Celebration: Twenty-two per cent of Canadians celebrate Valentine's Day regardless of whether they are seeing someone or not.

From January 10th to January 11th 2018 an online survey was conducted among 1,511 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to education, age, gender and region (and in Quebec, language) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About RetailMeNot, Inc.

RetailMeNot, Inc. (https://www.retailmenot.com/corp/) is a leading savings destination connecting consumers with retailers, restaurants and brands, both online and in-store. The company enables consumers across the globe to find hundreds of thousands of digital offers to save money while they shop or dine out. RetailMeNot, Inc. estimates that approximately $4.4 billion in retailer sales were attributable to consumer transactions from paid digital offers in its marketplace in 2016, more than $600 million of which were attributable to its in-store solution. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio of websites and mobile applications includes RetailMeNot.com in the United States; RetailMeNot.ca in Canada; VoucherCodes.co.uk in the United Kingdom; ma-reduc.com and Poulpeo.com in France; and GiftCardZen.com and Deals2Buy.com in North America. As wholly owned subsidiaries of Harland Clarke Holdings, RetailMeNot and Valassis, a leader in intelligent media delivery, are partnering to connect retailers and consumers through meaningful digital, mobile and print promotions both online and in store.